False ID of Animals on Next Outdoor Camera - Plugged into power source

[trjack57]

I have a Nest Outdoor camera plugged into an outlet and it presents many alerts saying it saw an animal when there was none.

It seems to be getting worse.

My Camera Settings

Seen Events - People Animals

Notifications 

People 

Animals

[DeboraJ]

Hi @trjack57

Thank you for reaching out to the community! I understand you're experiencing issues with the alerts on your Nest cameras. I'm sorry to hear you're having these problems, and I'm here to assist you.

To better understand your situation, I need some information:

• When did the issue begin?
• If you have more than one camera, is this issue occurring with other devices as well?
• Is this the first time you've experienced this issue?
• Are activity zones enabled?

I'll be ready to assist you as soon as you provide this information.

Best regards,

Debora

[trjack57]

Thanks so much for replying.

I would say that about 2 months ago, my Nest Camera started reporting false animal sightings.  Before that time, the camera was able to correctly report an animal when a real animal was spotted. 

I factory reset the camera, and now some random rain came back as an animal, where as before, this would have just come back as motion.  I now have motion turned off - I only have people and animals turned on, but I still receive reports of animal sightings when there are no animals around.  

[DeboraJ]

Hi @trjack57

Thank you very much for the information! We have one more question:

• If you use a different phone or device, do you also receive those notifications? Or are they only appearing on your current phone?

The reason for this question is to eliminate the possibility of an app bug, which may result in notifications appearing on select devices.

In the meantime, you could try adjusting the camera's angle. It's possible that shadows or similar things are triggering false motion alerts.

Please let us know if you try this and the answer to our question. We'll be waiting for your response.

Best regards,

Debora

[trjack57]

The notifications come in regardless of the device.

However, two nights ago, the camera picked up an opossum in my yard and correctly notified me that it was an animal.  This says the Nest system works but needs an "adjustment" to prevent false-positive animal notifications. 

Is there something more I can do? 

[DeboraJ]

Hi @trjack57

Thank you for the information and details provided. Based on the information, these false alarms can occur when the device has insufficient light or difficulty accurately detecting shadows and shapes. Therefore, I recommend adjusting the camera's angle or increasing the illumination near the camera's location.

As mentioned, this is likely an adjustment issue. We simply need to find the optimal camera angle to ensure the most accurate detection of figures and motion.

Please let me know if you have any further questions. I'll be happy to assist you.

Best regards,

Debora